Connectors generally have a large number of conductive contacts aligned in a dielectric housing thereof. Such connector must be designed to fulfill requirements of proper alignment, engagement and coplanarity of the contacts assembled in the housing. One way to assemble contacts of conventional connectors is to insert the contacts into contact receiving passageways of the housing and bend the tails of the contacts to properly position the tails for mating to a mating circuit board. However, achieving reliability of all the contacts assembled in the housing is difficult due to space requirements and inability for conventional tooling to interact with the contacts to facilitate the bending thereof. Another way to assemble contacts of conventional connectors is to pre-bend the contacts and insert the pre-bent contacts into contact receiving passageways. However, this is not practical for all contact configurations as the pressing force acting on the contacts may be large, causing the contacts to deform.
Hence, an improved electrical connector assembly is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a modular electrical connector assembly and method which allows contact to be bent and inserted into the housing without damage to the contacts. In addition, it would be beneficial to allow for the contacts to be bent with the use of conventional tooling. Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.